Quick answer: To advertise on ChatGPT, sign up for Ads Manager at ads.openai.com. Your business needs to be based in one of the 89 countries where self-service is available. Verify the business, add a payment method and install the OpenAI Pixel or Conversions API. Then create a campaign (objective, budget, countries), an ad group (bid strategy and context hints) and several ads (title, copy, image, landing page). Ads go live after review, appear below ChatGPT responses for Free and Go users (including logged-out sessions), and start at a $25/day minimum budget in USD. (OpenAI, OpenAI, OpenAI)
Here's the full walkthrough. It reflects the platform as of mid-November 2026, including the new bidding options OpenAI introduced on November 9.
Before you start: can you advertise on ChatGPT?
Check three things before you spend time on setup.
1. Is your country supported? Self-serve Ads Manager is available in 89 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Austria, France, India and Japan (OpenAI, OpenAI). The legal entity that advertises and is billed has to be based in an available country (OpenAI).
2. Is your category allowed? OpenAI's ad policies focus on consumer categories such as household goods, local services, travel and entertainment, and digital products and education. Financial services, health and legal services are restricted or case-by-case. Gambling, alcohol, tobacco, adult content, recreational drugs and political ads are disallowed (OpenAI Ad Policies). Some regulated categories also differ by country. For example, legal services are allowed in the US and not elsewhere (OpenAI).
3. Does your audience use free ChatGPT? Ads only show to users on the Free and Go plans. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts don't see ads, and neither do users identified as under 18 (OpenAI). Ads also don't appear in Temporary Chats or near sensitive topics such as health, mental health or politics (OpenAI).
Step 1: Create your Ads Manager account
Go to ads.openai.com and sign up. Have these ready (Search Engine Land):
- Legal business name
- Business tax ID (e.g., an EIN in the US)
- Credit or debit card
- A favicon (your logo appears in the ad)
Agencies, take note: according to Search Engine Land, OpenAI says agencies shouldn't create accounts on behalf of clients. The advertiser creates the account and adds the agency as a user (Search Engine Land). Once you belong to 10 or more ad accounts, you can't create another one yourself, but you can still be invited to more (OpenAI).
Verification: business verification can take up to 7 business days (OpenAI). Some accounts can start delivering ads, and spending, before extra verification is required. If you're not ready to spend, keep campaigns paused (OpenAI).
Step 2: Set up measurement before you launch
Do this step first. Without conversion data you can't use conversion optimization, and you'll be judging the channel on clicks alone.
ChatGPT Ads offers two measurement integrations (OpenAI):
| Integration | Where it runs | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI Pixel | Your visitor's browser | Website actions such as sign-ups and purchases |
| Conversions API | Your server | Confirmed backend events such as paid orders |
| Both | Browser and server | Better coverage. Use the same event ID so OpenAI can remove duplicates. |
How it works: when someone clicks your ad, OpenAI appends a click reference called oppref to your landing page URL. The Pixel stores it in a first-party cookie so later conversions can be attributed (OpenAI). You create the Pixel ID in the conversions tab of Ads Manager (OpenAI Developers).
Also add UTM parameters to every ad's destination URL so ChatGPT traffic shows up in GA4 or your analytics tool. OpenAI confirms these parameters persist on ad clicks (OpenAI).
Step 3: Create your campaign
The campaign holds your objective, budget, schedule and targeting. Each campaign includes (OpenAI):
| Setting | What to choose | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Views (CPM), Clicks (CPC) or Conversions (oCPC/oCPM) | You can't change the objective after creation, so you'd have to create a new campaign. |
| Budget | Daily or campaign total | The daily minimum is $25 / €15 / £15. A daily budget averages over 7 days and can reach 2× on a single day. |
| Dates | Start and end | On your first campaign, date options may appear only after publishing, so don't publish just to reach them. |
| Countries | Where ads can appear | To target only the US, you must include the US. Excluding others isn't enough. |
| Platforms (optional) | Android app/web, desktop web, iOS app/web | You can segment results by platform in Insights. |
| Custom audiences (optional) | Include or exclude first-party lists | Inclusion needs at least 25,000 matched users. Avoid audiences in the EEA and Switzerland while ads personalization is unavailable there. |
Two gotchas that hit new accounts:
- Home-country restriction. Some new self-serve accounts can initially advertise only in their home country, and selecting other countries doesn't override this (OpenAI).
- Which objective to start with? Most advertisers start with Clicks, according to Search Engine Land's walkthrough (Search Engine Land). Switch to Conversions once your Pixel or Conversions API is sending a supported standard event. Custom events aren't supported for conversion optimization (OpenAI).
Step 4: Build ad groups and write context hints
Ad groups are where ChatGPT ads feel most different from Google. There are no keywords. Instead, you write context hints: free-form descriptions of the conversations, topics or needs where your offer is relevant (OpenAI).
How to structure ad groups: organize each around one shared product, service, theme or customer need, and create separate ad groups when use cases need different messaging or landing pages (OpenAI).
How to write context hints (from OpenAI's guidance, OpenAI):
- Cover what you offer, who it helps and when it's useful. Each hint doesn't need all three.
- Write one clear, natural phrase per idea, "rather than a list of disconnected keywords."
- Be specific, and keep hints accurate as pricing and features change.
- Don't write delivery instructions. "Show this ad only to people in Chicago" won't work, because hints can't enforce geography, schedules or exclusions.
OpenAI's own examples:
| Business | Example context hint |
|---|---|
| Running shoes | Cushioned everyday running shoes for beginners training for their first 5K |
| Local plumber | After-hours residential plumbing in [city], with an $89 service-call fee for urgent repairs |
| Accounting software | Bookkeeping software for growing retailers that need to reconcile online and in-store sales |
Interestingly, one agency tested a keyword-style list against full conversational questions, using identical ads. In that single test the keyword-style ad group served far more often, with a slightly higher CTR and lower CPC (Search Engine Land). It's one test, not a rule, so test both formats yourself.
Step 5: Pick a bidding strategy
Since November 9, 2026, you have three options for new campaigns (OpenAI):
| Strategy | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligent bidding | Automatically adjusts bids to get results within your budget | You don't have a cost target yet |
| Target CPC | Works toward an average cost per click | You run click campaigns and know your acceptable CPC |
| Target CPA | Works toward an average cost per conversion | You run conversion campaigns with healthy tracking |
Legacy Max CPC and Max Bid controls retire on January 1, 2027 (OpenAI). For click campaigns, OpenAI recommends starting around $3–$5 per click (OpenAI). For a deeper breakdown, read our guide to ChatGPT ads cost.
Step 6: Create your ads
Every ad includes an advertiser name, favicon, title, copy, landing page and image (OpenAI). Search Engine Land reports a 50-character headline limit and a 100-character description limit, with square PNG or JPG images (Search Engine Land). OpenAI's troubleshooting guide says images must be square and no larger than 1200 × 1200 (OpenAI). You can also run our free ChatGPT Ads Checker to check a headline, description and landing page against these published limits, OpenAI's ad policies, and whether the page blocks OAI-AdsBot or OAI-SearchBot.
OpenAI's creative advice in a nutshell (OpenAI):
- Build for coverage. Write multiple distinct title and copy variations per offering.
- Be benefit-focused. Say what the product does, who it's for and when it helps.
- Link to the most relevant page, not a generic homepage.
- Don't block OAI-AdsBot or OAI-SearchBot on your landing pages.
- Try multi-image ads. Since October 26, 2026, a 4–6 square image format is in open beta.
Need inspiration? See our breakdown of ChatGPT ads examples and specs.
Step 7: Submit for review and launch
Ads go through review before they can run. OpenAI checks the advertiser, the creative and the landing page (OpenAI Ad Policies). Even after approval, delivery also depends on account readiness, billing, campaign status, budget and schedule (OpenAI).
After launch:
- Allow at least 24 hours before reporting zero delivery on a new campaign (OpenAI).
- Impressions, clicks and CTR refresh about every 15 minutes. Spend can lag 7–8 hours (OpenAI).
- If an ad shows "Not serving," hover over it to see the reason. Then edit and resubmit, or request another review (OpenAI).
Step 8: Optimize with limited data
Reporting covers impressions, clicks, spend, CTR, average CPC, average CPM and conversions (OpenAI). You can't see the conversations or themes that triggered your ad, and Search Engine Land notes that geographic reporting is segmented only by country (Search Engine Land).
That leaves three main levers:
- Creative. Pause weak variations and add new angles.
- Context hints. Make them more specific, or split ad groups by use case.
- Structure. Use separate campaigns for different objectives, regions or product categories (OpenAI).
Prefer code? Use the Advertiser API
Everything above can also be automated. The Advertiser API covers campaigns, ad groups, ads, product feeds, conversion tracking and reporting. You create an Advertiser API key on the Settings page in Ads Manager (OpenAI Developers).
Launched already? Get a second pair of eyes
The first 30 days are when small setup mistakes cost the most: vague context hints, one lonely ad per group, bids below guidance, broken tracking. Blobbo's free ChatGPT Ads audit checks for all of them and gives you a prioritized fix list. Get your free audit → or peek at a sample report.
Blobbo is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI.
FAQ
How do I start advertising on ChatGPT?
Sign up at ads.openai.com, verify your business, add a payment method, set up the OpenAI Pixel or Conversions API, and create a campaign, an ad group with context hints and your ads. Ads run after they pass review (OpenAI, OpenAI).
Can small businesses advertise on ChatGPT?
Yes. OpenAI says the introduction of Ads Manager in May 2026 opened the platform to small and medium-sized businesses (OpenAI). The minimum daily budget is $25 in USD (OpenAI).
Can I advertise on ChatGPT from Europe?
Yes. Self-service is available in many European countries, including Germany, Austria, France, Spain and Italy. Your billed legal entity must be based in a listed country (OpenAI). Personalized ads aren't initially available in the EEA or Switzerland (OpenAI).
Do ChatGPT ads use keywords?
No. You describe relevant conversations with context hints at the ad-group level. They guide matching but aren't exact-match keywords and don't guarantee delivery (OpenAI).
Does running ChatGPT ads help my brand show up in ChatGPT answers?
No. OpenAI says ads don't influence ChatGPT's answers and run on separate systems from the chat model (OpenAI).
Sources
- OpenAI Help Center, Ads Manager Availability
- OpenAI Help Center, Ads in ChatGPT (user FAQ)
- OpenAI Help Center, Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics
- OpenAI Help Center, Creating campaigns for ChatGPT Ads
- OpenAI Help Center, Create Ad Groups for ChatGPT Ads
- OpenAI Help Center, Writing context hints for ChatGPT Ads
- OpenAI Help Center, Creating ads for ChatGPT Ads
- OpenAI Help Center, Bidding strategies and how pricing works in ChatGPT Ads
- OpenAI Help Center, Conversion Measurement
- OpenAI Help Center, Conversion-optimized Campaigns
- OpenAI Help Center, Troubleshooting Common Issues
- OpenAI Help Center, Troubleshooting Common Onboarding and Policy Issues
- OpenAI, Ad policies
- OpenAI, ChatGPT Ads expands to 26 new countries (October 21, 2026)
- OpenAI, A milestone in expanding access to AI (August 31, 2026)
- OpenAI Developers, Advertiser API overview and Measurement Pixel
- Search Engine Land, How to run ChatGPT ads: A step-by-step guide from early campaigns (August 10, 2026)